CBI summons former Manipur CM O Ibobi Singh in Rs 332 crore misappropriation case

The CBI has summoned senior Congress leader and former Manipur Chief Minister O Ibobi Singh for questioning in connection with a case of misappropriation of state government funds worth Rs 322 crore.

The agency's action comes days after Congress staked a claim for forming the government under Singh in Manipur where a section of allies withdrew support for the BJP-led N Biren Singh government while a few MLAs, including from the saffron party, resigned to join Congress.

Officials said a CBI team would question him on Wednesday. A summons has been issued to him to appear before the investigators at CBI office in Imphal, officials said.

The CBI had registered a case against Singh and others on November 20, 2019 and conducted searches in nine locations in Aizwal, Imphal and Gurugram. Investigators had then claimed that they had seized Rs 11.47 lakh in cash and Rs 36.49 lakh in old demonetised currency from Singh's residence.

Eight luxury cars of Audi, Mitsibushi, Honda and Hyundai were also found during the searches at Singh's residence, they said. Besides this, documents related to various properties including plots, houses, flats, shops, luxury cars as well as details of various bank accounts were recovered during the searches at the premises of Singh and former IAS officers who were part of the Manipur Development Society.

A CBI spokesperson had in November last year had alleged that Singh, the then chairman of the Manipur Development Society (MDS), during his tenure from June 30, 2009 to July 6, 2017 in conspiracy with others, misappropriated government funds to the tune of Rs 332 crore out of the total amount of Rs 518 crore which was entrusted to them for the purpose of executing development work.

The agency has also named three former MDS chairmen -- D S Poonia, P C Lawmuknga, O Nabakishore Singh -- all retired IAS officers in the case. Others named in the FIR are Y Ningthem Singh, former project director of the society and S Ranjit Singh, its administrative officer.

The CBI also recovered Rs 10 lakh of demonetised currency from Ningthem Singh and documents of two houses in Imphal. It also recovered property and bank documents from residences of Poonia, Lawmkunga and Nabakishore.